Shield for air conditioner

ABSTRACT

A radiant-reflective shield for an air conditioner condenser unit has slatted or louvered sidewalls and a partial top cover. The partial top cover shades sunlight from impinging on all or most of the top surface of the condenser unit without obstructing exhaust air exiting from the unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a shield for a condensing coil unit of acentral air conditioner to improve operating efficiency and minimize theamount of radiant energy striking said unit. Many outdoor central airconditioner condensing coil units are exposed to intense heat fromdirect sunlight. Such radiant heating causes the unit to consume moreelectrical energy to power a fan to effect desired cooling of thecondensing coil.

2. Description of the Prior Art

U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,264 shows a portable shelter for an air conditionerunit that has an inclined roof and three side walls. The shelter ismounted to a frame with wheels. It may be rolled into position tosurround the metal housing of an outside air conditioner unit. Theinclined roof extends over the entire top of the air conditioner unit topreclude debris from contracting the unit. The shelter also reflectssunlight to prevent radiant heat from building up on the air conditionerunit.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,181 illustrates a cover for an air conditioner withlouvers on the top and sidewalls. The cover may be three-sided. Theslats or louvers across the top may be adjusted at an angle to betterreflect sunlight away from the air conditioner. The slats extend overthe entire top of the air conditioner unit. This patent also proposesdripping water onto the slats on the sidewalls to help cool the intakeair.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,328 shows yet another cover for an air conditioningcompressor unit with slats or louvers. The '328 patent refers to pivotalshutters over each of the sidewalls and top ceiling, where each shutteris selectively movable between open and closed positions. The topceiling extends to cover the entire air conditioning condenser unit.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,424 shows a louvered air conditioner cover intendedfor a window air conditioning unit. The cover has a solid upper roof andlouvered sides, and can be installed over a window-mounted airconditioner unit.

Other radiant shields and covers for air conditioning condenser unitsare shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,158,175, 6,430,954; 6,595,017; 4,730,423;and 6,138,993.

The background art shields generally cover the entire roof of the airconditioner condenser unit, either with a solid roof section or with ascreen or shuttered section. In all of these prior designs, the airexhaust from the air conditioner condenser unit is hampered to somedegree. This limits cooling efficiency by holding hot air from theexhaust close to the condenser unit, rather than expelling it away.Accordingly, a shield for an air conditioner condenser coil unit thatreflects radiant energy without adversely impacting air flow to and outof the condenser coil unit is still sought.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A radiant-reflective shield for an air conditioner condenser unit hassidewalls with slatted openings to permit air flow therethrough so thatair may reach the air condenser unit and a top cover to shield at leasta portion of radiant energy from impinging upon the air conditionercondenser unit without obstructing exhaust air from exiting the airconditioner condenser unit. In one embodiment, the top cover extendsover ¼ to ⅓ of the top surface of the air conditioner condenser unit.The shield deflect radiant energy sufficiently to reduce monthlyhousehold or building energy costs, preferably reducing such costs by atleast 10% from costs incurred in a comparable calendar month withoutsuch shield.

The top cover may be fixedly mounted to the top frame. Alternatively,the top cover may be movably mounted to the top frame, such that the topcover may be moved from a first position to a second position to shieldthe air conditioner condenser unit from impingement by radiant energy.In yet another embodiment, the top cover may have a slanted top surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shield of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the shield of FIG. 1, with anupper portion partially broken away;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the shield of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view in elevation taken along line 4-4 ofFIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a partial left side elevational view of an alternative shieldof the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring first to FIGS. 1-4, a shield 10 for an air conditionercondenser coil unit 30 (said unit shown in phantom outline in FIG. 1)has three sidewalls formed from slatted side panels 16, 18, 20. Eachslatted side panel 16, 18, 20 has a series of louvers 22 that permit airto flow therethrough to reach air conditioner condenser unit 30. The airflows through the louvers 22 in the direction of arrows 24.

The louvers 22, may be formed to have a predetermined or set openingangle. Alternatively, the slats of the louvers 22 may be rotatable oradjustable to permit varying the extent of the slatted openings in theside panels 16, 18, 20. Such openings may vary from 180° (parallel andfully open) to 45° (as shown in FIG. 4) to any other desired angle. Suchslats or louvers 22 block radiant energy, such as sunlight, fromimpacting or substantially impacting upon air conditioner condenser unit30 In this manner, the slats or louvers 22 prevent or substantiallyprevent radiant heating of air conditioner condenser unit 30 withoutimpacting or substantially impacting the flow of intake air to the unit30.

The side panels 16, 18, 20 form three sidewalls of the shield 10. Topand bottom portions of the side panels are fastened to a frame formedwith frame members 12, 14. Fastening may be with screws or bolts orother customary fasteners 28. As shown In FIGS. 1 and 4, screws withdecorative screw heads may be installed to fasten panels 16, 18, 20 toframe members 12, 14.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4, top cover 26 is movably mounted tothe top of the shield 10. Top cover 26 is shown in FIGS. 1-4 having alength and width that extends to cover only a minor portion of the topsurface of the exhaust hood of air conditioner condenser unit 30, but toan extent sufficient to shield the air conditioner condenser unit 30from sunlight or radiant energy impacting upon all or a substantialportion of the unit 30. The top cover 26 in FIGS. 1 and 4 is shownadjacent to front panel 18 and extending over about one-quarter toone-third of the unit 30. In this position, top cover 26 shields the airconditioner condenser coil from radiant energy, but does not block orobstruct exhaust air from exiting the condenser unit 30. Arrows 32illustrate that exhaust air has a free path to exit from the shield 10without having to flow through a screen or other obstruction.

In some cases, it would also be possible to configure top cover 26 suchthat it does not cover any portion of the top surface of the airconditioner condenser unit, yet still reflects away all or a majorportion of radiant heat from sunlight. For example, top cover 26 couldbe slanted at an angle or could have an angular or wedge shape.

In some cases, it would also be possible to configure top cover 26 suchthat it covers more than one-third of the top surface of air conditionercondenser unit 30. Preferably, the top cover 26 does not unduly obstructexhaust air from exiting from the air conditioner condenser unit 30.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, top frame members 36 each include a slot 38to receive the ends of shafts 40 on which rollers or wheels 42 aremounted. Said rollers or wheels 42 traverse in contact with framemembers 36. The top cover 26 is mounted to said wheels 42 and shafts 40via bearing blocks 44. Accordingly, top cover 26 may be moved in thedirection of arrow 46 (FIG. 1) from a first position close to the frontside panel 18 to a second position to cover a different portion of theair conditioner condenser unit 30. The wheels 42 permit the top cover 26to be moved variously from one position to another position over the airconditioner condenser unit 30. Thus, the cover 26 may be variously movedto shield any portion or all or substantially all of the air conditionercondenser unit 30 from radiant energy. Preferably, movement of the topcover 26 does not unduly obstruct the exhaust air from exiting the unit30.

Referring next to FIG. 5, a top cover 26 a is shown fixedly mounted totop surfaces of side panels 16, 18 and 20. As such, top cover 26 a has awidth dimension that extends to cover none or only a minor portion ofthe top surface of the exhaust hood of air conditioner condenser unit30. The fixed position is selected so as to minimize obstructions ofexhaust air while still providing sufficient shading to reflect radiantheat away from air conditioner condenser unit. In FIG. 5, the cover 26 aextends over about one-quarter to one-third of the top surface of unit30.

The side panels and the top cover may be formed from various weather-and heat-durable materials, such as, but not limited to, aluminum,coated aluminum, other coated metal, certain durable plastics such aspolypropylene, polycarbonate, vinyl, and vinyl coated fiberglass or froma solar screen.

Installing the radiant-reflective shield according to the invention overan air conditioner condenser unit results in energy cost savings of atleast about 10% and up to about 30% per month. In some cases where theair conditioner condenser unit is in direct sunlight in a generallywestern or southern exposed side of a home, energy cost savings mayreach about 50% per month. For example, a home residence in a middleAtlantic state in the United States that had an air conditionercondenser coil unit mounted on a slab outside the home had the followingenergy consumption:

July 2005 July 2006 Ave. temp. 77° F. 77° F. kWh 1820 1584 Percentreduced energy consumed 13% August 2005 August 2006 Ave. temp. 78° F.79° F. kWh 1817 1342 Percent reduced energy consumed 26%In July 2006, a shield according to the invention was installed over theair conditioner condenser unit. Between 2005 and 2006, there were nochanges in the number of occupants or the energy consumption applianceswithin the home. The shield reduced energy consumed during when comparedwith the same month the prior year, wherein the average dailytemperature was the same or nearly the same.

The invention has been illustrated by detailed description and examplesof the preferred embodiments. Various changes in form and detail will bewithin the skill of persons skilled in the art. Therefore, the inventionmust be measured by the claims and not by the description of theexamples or the preferred embodiments.

1. A radiant-reflective shield for an air conditioner condenser unit,comprising: a plurality of sidewalls, with each sidewall having slattedopenings to permit air flow therethrough so that air may reach the aircondenser unit; and a top cover to shield at least a portion of radiantenergy from impinging upon the air conditioner condenser unit withoutobstructing exhaust air from exiting the air conditioner condenser unit.2. The shield of claim 1, wherein the air conditioner condenser unit hasa top surface and the top cover extends over ¼ to ⅓ of the top surfaceof the air conditioner condenser unit.
 3. The shield of claim 1, whereinthe top cover does not extend directly over any portion of the topsurface of the air conditioner condenser unit.
 4. The shield of claim 1,wherein the sidewalls are mounted to a top frame.
 5. The shield of claim4, wherein the top cover is fixedly mounted to the top frame.
 6. Theshield of claim 4, wherein the top cover is movably mounted to the topframe, such that the top cover may be moved from a first position to asecond position to shield the air conditioner condenser unit fromimpingement by radiant energy.
 7. The shield of claim 1, wherein theslatted openings comprise a series of adjustable louvers.
 8. The shieldof claim 1, wherein the air conditioner condenser unit has a top surfaceand from 66% to 100% of the top surface is not covered by the top coverof the shield.
 9. The shield of claim 1, wherein the sidewalls and topcover are formed from a material selected from the group consisting of:aluminum, coated aluminum, polypropylene, polycarbonate, vinyl, vinylcoated fiberglass and solar screen material.
 10. The shield of claim 1,wherein the top cover has a slanted top surface.
 11. The shield of claim1, wherein radiant energy is deflected sufficiently to reduce monthlyhousehold or building energy costs by at least 10% from costs incurredin a comparable calendar month without such shield.
 12. A method ofreducing energy costs associated with central air conditioningcomprising installing the radiant reflective shield of claim 1 to shieldor substantially shield an air conditioner condenser unit.